Although it has only been a few days at Alexander Muss High School Israel, the feeling of living at home in this new and exciting country with friends from different parts of the United States is unlike any experience I’ve had before. With all the fun I know I will have on the trip; I also want to make this experience a journey of character growth and a way to learn new skills that I could only get out of a program like this.

The most important goal for me is to be able to balance my general studies courses with my Israeli studies course. I am in my Junior year of, allegedly being the hardest year of high school because of studying for SAT’s and AP tests. However, I will need to stay on top of all my work throughout the tiyulim and dorm activities. Fortunately, I have a very supportive cohort to help me with this endeavor.

Back home, my environment is much more American that Jewish. So, when I come back, I want to be able to speak an intermediate level of Hebrew to honor the language that connects the Jewish people and the time I spent in Israel. I can improve my Hebrew speaking, reading and writing through rigorous studying hard in and with my homework. I also have the amazing resource of being immersed in a Hebrew speaking environment to improve my speaking and reading skills.